Wiser! Essay: Facebook start trials of digital wallet Novi using the crypto stablecoin Pax Dollar. Meanwhile, rumours abound that Facebook is to rename to reflect its strategy for the Metaverse.
As I was about to publish this week's essay on the Metaverse for Premium Members, rumours surfaced that Facebook is about to rename itself. To reflect its new focus on the Metaverse.
If it happens, this would be huge news for the social media platform that is used by over a third of the world's population every month. However, it would also not be surprising. In the Forbes' Most Valuable Brands report, Facebook tops the list of biggest losers with a 21% decline in value from 2019 to 2020.
The scrutiny on its business practices, advertising business model and failure to act on its own research is only going to get harder for Mark Zuckerberg and Team Facebook. (Read this issue of Wiser! for more.)
It is no secret that the Facebook strategy is to realign to the Metaverse and move away from being purely a social media company with an advertising business model. In an address to Facebook employees in June, Mark Zuckerberg said,
“Our overarching goal across all of these initiatives is to help bring the metaverse to life.” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook
Novi, Facebook's digital wallet
A key component of Zuckerberg's Metaverse strategy is a digital wallet. This would allow users to move units of value around the Facebook network instantly and at zero cost. Users would be able to send and spend digital money using the Novi wallet.
This week, Facebook announced that it was starting user trials of Novi in the US and Guatemala. The focus is remittances. This is where overseas workers send money back home to their families. (I wrote a 10-min essay on it here.)
